Friday, September 12, 2014

The Beau Gentry - Just In Case

The Beau Gentry, formed in Indiatlantic, Florida in '64, made their way up north in the summer of '66 to tour the midwest and soon were amassing a following in the Wisconsin and Illinois area. So much so that they settle in the area for the next while and eventually made today's recording, Just In Case, on a small label out of Janesville Wisconsin in, I believe, early 1967.

Just in Case - the flip-side of the single - was written by non-bandmember R. Bryant and has an odd time signature, somewhat reminiscent of the Yardbirds' Little Games. What is it? 3/4? In any case to me it's like an inverted waltz. Add to this some brilliant CSN-like harmonies, a charging, free-form rhythm section and a time-signature change for the bridge and you know you're in some uncharted territory. The Beau Gentry was Rick Jaeger, Doug Kilmer, Lance Massey and Russ DaShiell (l-r pictured above).

Doug Kilmer and Russ Dashiell soon hit it big when they joined Norman Greenbaum for the recording of Spirit In The Sky and subsequent touring, while Rick Jaeger went on to record and tour with Dave Mason. Not bad! The Beau Gentry also show up in a Dunwich retrospective and it is no surprise they were subject to the gravitational pull of that formidable scene.

Unusual herky-jerky rhythms indeed. But the time signature remains 4/4 throughout. Just keep counting along 1-2-3-4 and don't get distracted by the drums dropping out, or the occasional Bo Diddley flourish.

this is an Everly Brothers cut, oddly written only by Boudleaux Bryant without his usual writing partner, wife Felice. When I discovered 60's music (in the early 80's) I became friends with as many musicians from that era as I could find. Some of these guys were the Wylde Heard, who moved from central Illinois to Janesville, WI and cut a record for Ken Adamany on Feature, later picked up by Phillips. When their band broke up bass player Bill Sutton teamed up with the Beau Gentry guys and (with typical 70's moniker) became Crowfoot. They featured Sam McCue on guitar who was from Milwaukee, previously road guitarist and one-time band member of the Everly Brothers, earlier being in the Legends.